1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to golf and more specifically to a method and apparatus for improving putting skill which enables a golfer to decrease the amount of variation during a putting stroke.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Putting methods and club designs have not changed dramatically for the last 100 years. The result of this lack of change has been a lack of improvement in putting skills by amateur as well as professional golfers.
The traditional putting methods are plagued with numerous sources of potential error, resulting in making the action so difficult that even few professionals have been able to master the task.
Furthermore, the great plethora of putter designs that are introduced to the marketplace yearly gives testimony to the fact that very few putters designs include all of the features that are necessary to optimize the equipment for the intended task of even traditional putting methods-even though the sport is approximately 400 years old. Accordingly, there is a clearly felt need in the art for a method and apparatus for improving putting skill which decreases the variation encountered during a putting swing and provides for a putter which is designed to optimize the properties critical to successful execution of such an improved putting stroke.
The present invention provides a method and apparatus for improving putting skill through an improved method of swinging the putter and the associated putter design.
An improved method of swinging a putter includes an improved putter and a swinging stance of specific features. The elements of the swinging method include gripping the putter in a traditional fashion (e.g. interlocking grip), securing at least one hand or a butt end of the hand grip against some part of the lower body, moving the putter head back through an arcuate path, and retracing the arcuate path to strike the golf ball. Preferably, the at least one hand or the butt end of the hand grip is placed against the leg closest to the target, just above the kneecap. The knee on which the golf club is resting may be extended forward to facilitate the swing.
The golfer may also place the improved putter against other areas of the lower body, besides above the kneecap. Other locations include farther up the thigh or inside the thigh (the closer to the femur, the better). The golfer may also rest his right elbow on his right thigh, and left elbow on the left thigh; only the right elbow on the right thigh; or only the left elbow on the left thigh. The main objective is that the end of the hand grip or hands are pivoted about the lower body (anywhere below the belt line) to produce an arcuate swing.
The improved putter head is preferably swung parallel to the ground. The improved putter head may be slid on the green or slid slightly above the green during the putting swing. It is preferable that the golfer orient his head such that his eyes look substantially vertically downward on the golf ball.
The improved putter includes a putter head, shaft, and hand grip. The putter head preferably has a substantially round cross section to reduce friction if the putter head is slid along the ground. Preferably, either end of the putter head may be used to strike a golf ball. A first end of the shaft is preferably attached to substantially a middle of an axial length of the putter head. The length of the shaft is at least 18 inches to conform to the United States Golfing Association (USGA) rules. The hand grip is attached to a second end of the shaft. Further to conform to USGA rules, the shaft must be bent within the first five inches from the insertion point into the putter head in such a manner as to tilt the shaft a minimum of 10 degrees toward the golfer in the formal putting address position.
A second embodiment of an improved putter includes a putter head, shaft, and hand grip. The putter head preferably includes a xe2x80x9cIDxe2x80x9d shaped putter body (as viewed from a top and commonly referred to as a mallet design) with a hard rod inserted therein. An end of the hard rod is placed in the center of the putter body, flush with the putter head""s face. The hard rod may extend the full distance to the back of the putter body or only part of the way. A front of the hard rod strikes the golf ball. A bottom of the body is essentially flat, but rounded up on all edges which could come in contact with the ground during a swing. The angle of the shaft relative to the putter head may be an angle from 35 to 85 degrees from a vertical axis. Preferably, the angle of the shaft relative to the putter head (lie angle) is such that it would allow a golfer to place at least one hand or a butt end of the hand grip above the knee cap. The lie angle will vary, because each person has a different length of leg. The length of the shaft is at least 18 inches to conform to the USGA rules. The hand grip is attached to a second end of the shaft.
The lie angle of the traditional putter, that is the angle defined by the tilt away from vertical, and perpendicular to the intended flight line of the ball, in degrees, requires that golfers must place and maintain a gripping location of the putter with the hands, any where between 6 to 12 inches away from the body, the latter distance almost the norm. This means that the forearms and elbows are at a concomitant distance as well.
This posture requires that golfers must swing a club in a manner that is pendulum in nature, and do so with the controlling segments of the body that are significantly distal from the ball, the body, and most importantly from any part of the body that could both provide support and reduce physically the degrees of freedom inherent in the stroke. This condition results in both counter-productive backstroke and downstroke actions. Golfers rarely take the club back in a straight or repeatable fashion, and rarely return the head square to the ball, or at the sweet spot of the club. Since the traditional putting method permits a stroke that is free to vary both in back and downstroke, it does so. Thus putting is very rarely mastered, even by professionals.
Were a golfer to attempt to use a traditional putter with the invented method described herein, the conditions would not permit successful putting. For example, resting the gripped end of a traditional putter on the knee, would result in the putter head pointing awkwardly and highly above the horizon, exposing a much smaller hitting surface for the ball at impact. Furthermore, the putter""s heel is not be designed favorably to slide along or slightly above the ground. The heel would most likely catch the ground, and also the toe would have a tendency to tilt either left or right, depending upon its weighing, affecting the club face angle. Other problems are encountered by attempting to use a traditional putter with a traditional stance, and the attempting to get the putter stroke to move in an arc either along the ground or slightly above it.
In addition, to the requirement of tilting the shaft considerably more towards the golfer, other modifications are employed to optimize putters design for the improved putting method. The traditional putter head is poorly designed for the task of arcuate or pivot putting. Traditional putter heads have rounded soles that catch and stub when moved back and forth along the ground. This roundness also mitigates against setting up a putter head so that its sole lies parallel to the ground, a position that ideally should be maintained throughout the identified stroke.
Prior art putters are designed both geometrically and via weight distribution in a manner that offers some correction for preventing mishits, particularly strokes that result in ball contact being made either to the left or right of the club""s sweet spot. This is a very common occurrence, since even professionals often miss the sweet spot. The typical design modification to assist in correcting mishits is to use heel and toe weighing, placing most of the mass to the distal ends of the putter head. Since the pivot putting method provides for a very high probability of sweet spot contact, the putter can be designed with most of its mass directly behind the sweet spot, where it should be.
It is possible to modify a prior art putter such that it would appear to work with the previously disclosed improved putting method. The shaft of the modified prior art putter would be slowly radiused in a negatively decelerating curve towards the golfer. The radiused shaft provides serious energy transfer problems during the putt; the inertia of the modified prior art putter would be lost due to its tendency to want to twist in the golfer""s hands. Further, prior art putters have soles that are radiused up perpendicularly across the entire base. The prior art putters are also radiused inappropriately for a back swing along the ground. Thus there exists a high probability that the club would stub itself on the grass in both swing directions.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved method of swinging a putter which allows a golfer to dramatically increase the controllability of the ball""s path and therefore decrease the number of strokes during a round of golf.
Finally, it is another object of the present invention to provide an improved putter which optimizes the properties of a putter for the disclosed improved stroke, thereby decreasing the number of strokes during golf.
These and additional objects, advantages, features and benefits of the present invention will become apparent from the following specification.